Travel Diary: Palawan 2014 (Day One)

Travelling is actually one of the things I would love to do regularly; but since workload has been really piling up, I can’t just, impulsively, pack my bag and sail to wherever. So, when my daddy told me about a Palawan trip he’d want to pursue, I quickly said “yes” and after booking a flight in Air Asia and reserving a family room at Marianne Inn, I filed my leave and anticipated for the day we fly to Puerto Princesa.

The Flight Going to Puerto Princesa

 My sisters were pretty excited for our flight since it’s their first time to ride a plane. I remember my first time to ride a plane and it was, indeed, nerve wracking because I was all by myself. I needed to attend an event in Cebu for work. Anyway, w arrived an hour earlier than our flight schedule (as required and expected) and had our breakfast at the airport. Upon getting on to the plane, we took some pictures and selfies (requirement for first time plane riders – my two sisters and mom LOL) and then I plugged my earphones and took a nap.

We arrived at the Puerto Princesa Airport 15 minutes earlier than our expected time of arrival and was quite surprised that we were on the same flight as Hagedorn! Amazing, no? We waited for a few minutes till our airport transfer service (courtesy of Marianne Inn) arrives and took more photos!

Uh-Oh, A Little Bit of Trouble

When we arrived at our inn, we were warmly accepted and offered welcome drinks; but what a surprise because the family room my daddy, initially, had reserved was already taken because the moment my dad confirmed the booking online, the room was, also, just confirmed for reservation to a different family. But, we were given two standard rooms, instead, which is how my parents prefer it as well. They have their privacy and we, kids, can stay up late.

But there was another problem... Daddy thought we can just go to Palawan and, on the spot, get a slot for the Underground River Tour; but it isn’t how things go. We should have told the inn (since they have an in-house travel agency) about how we would want to grab an Underground River Tour package so they could have scheduled us. But we can also do a walk-in registration for the Underground River Tour, and so we did. But, yes another but, the office was close because of a meeting of some sort so the inn told us that they’d just call come morning of the next day for a schedule. Yes!

Our First Meals at Puerto Princesa

For lunch, we were taken Chicken Inato and their sizzling dishes were good and very inexpensive. They also have a cool dining area where each group are given a mini kubo-like space. Please forgive me because I forgot the exact names of the dishes we ordered but I will never forget the Spicy Sizzling Tofu which was good but never, even a bit, spicy. LOL

For our dinner, we tried out the Puerto Princesa Baywalk where you can choose to dine in any of the stalls sprouting during the night. We tried out the Boodle Feast, which is good for 4-5 and only costs P500. If you’re not a big eater it’s actually good for 6-8 because we definitely had a lot of left-over. We also ordered a Crocodile sisig, which is not really a big deal of a dish since it tasted like normal sisig anyway.

My first day verdict

The mode of transportation and the food in Puerto Princesa are superbly affordable and definitely worth it. So far, I’m loving Puerto Princesa, its people and how disciplined they are! Kapag nagkalat ka, alam nang hindi ka taga-Puerto Princesa! Watch out for my day 2 post if you want to know where I went next.